Sometimes an autograph book has a sad story to tell, and this was really poignant: I found this photo of the Edinburgh Academy rugby team from 1914, taken at the start of term just after the Great War broke out. Opposite the photo are the signatures of the players, all of whom joined up to fight straight from school. The attrition rate was high, as six were killed in action: they included an early victim of the Red Baron, the Dux of the school, and a boy killed within days of his brother. Four more were wounded and only six came through unscathed. I have now donated the autograph book to the school in the hope they can use it for research and education. Here is a look at the sixteen players in the squad, starting with the fallen:

Andrew Blyth McCulloch Bogle (Lieutenant, Royal Scots) Killed on 14 July 1916 at Delville Wood, he is buried in Quarry Cemetery, Montauban.William Graham Notman (2nd Lieutenant, 3rd Highland Light Infantry) Dux of the school, he was killed on 13 August 1916 and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, also on a family grave in Edinburgh’s Dean Cemetery.Thomas Arthur Ritchie (Lieutenant, East Lancs Regiment) Missing, presumed killed in action on 18 October 1916.Ian Gilmour Cameron (2nd Lieut, Cameron Highlanders, attached to Royal Flying Corps) Shot down on 9 November 1916 by Manfred von Richthofen, the ‘Red Baron’, over the Somme at Beugny.

[Thomas] Ian [Thomson] Sloan (2nd Lieutenant, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders) Killed during an attack at Roeux on 23 April 1917. He was a piper in the school band and the Ian Sloan Cup, commissioned by his brothers, is awarded to this day as a piping trophy at the Academy.

James MacLaren (Captain, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders) Having survived a gas attack at Ypres in 1915, he was killed on 21 November 1917 during the Battle of Cambrai, just two days after his brother William.

Four were wounded:Patrick Millar Matthew (Lieutenant, Royal Field Artillery) Invalided out after being wounded and gassed in 1917, suffering from shellshock. He took over the Victoria India Rubber Company from his father and died in 1977.John Lindsay (Captain, Black Watch) Captain of the rugby XV and also a member of the cricket XI, he was son of a minister in Bathgate. Joined Black Watch in 1915, won the Military Cross, and was wounded and taken prisoner in 1918. Died 1972.John Hyndford Carmichael (Lieutenant, A&S Highlanders) Wounded in France 1918, awarded the Military Cross, he remained in the army, serving in India until his retirement as Lt Col. Died 1968.Alan Dunlop Foster (Lieutenant, King's Own Scottish Borderers) Captain of the XV in 1915/16 he was commissioned in the KOSB on leaving school and was wounded in France 1918. Went to Durham University where he played in the cricket and rugby teams, and spent most of his career on hydro-electric schemes in Iran, dying there in 1948. The remaining six all came through the conflict without injury:William Playfair Vassie (Captain, Black Watch) Later a poultry farmer in Essex, he died in 1945.Claude William Macgregor (Lieutenant, Royal Navy) Remained in the Navy after the war, becoming a Commander. Died 1956.Alan Daniel Mackinlay Gordon Laing (Lieutenant, 114th Mahrattas, attached to RAF). Qualified as MRCVS (vet) and emigrated to Wellington, New Zealand. Died 1975.Henry Munro Somerville (Lieutenant, Royal Scots) Won the Military Cross. Became a Chartered Accountant in Leeds and died in 1977.Thomas Gibson (Captain, Tank Corps) Qualified as Doctor of Science (in agriculture), died in 1973George Alexander Bain (Captain, 3rd Gurkhas) Remained in the army, rising to Brigadier, made an OBE. Retired to Chagford, Devon and died in 1982, the last survivor of the team.

From the same autograph book, a dapper photo of Ian Cameron, who would be shot down by the Red Baron in 1916.

In the initial rush for everyone to ‘do their bit’ on the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, many unofficial units were quickly set up around the country. Of particular interest to sports historians is the Athletes’ Volunteer Force, formed by sporting journalists in London just ten days after the outbreak of war. The inaugural meeting on Friday 14 August was chaired by Henry Batty-Smith, editor of The Sportsman, and a four-page recruiting leaflet was printed the following day. In its appeal to cricketers, cyclists, football players, rowing men, athletes, golfers and swimmers, it clearly states that it is for men not eligible for the regular army, the territorials or any other recognised force; the AVF was never designed for active service, but for home defence, hence its emphasis on drill and rifle shooting. The initiative quickly gained nationwide support, with several hundred branches formed throughout the country, and was amalgamated in 1916 into the Central Association of Volunteer Training Corps. The AVF organisers mentioned inside have strong sporting credentials. Its President was the Earl of Lonsdale, Hugh Cecil Lowther (1857-1944), a well-known aristocrat, founder of the National Sporting Club and later a director of Arsenal. National Honorary Organising Secretary was Thomas Albert Edge (1863-1929), a racehorse owner and cyclist, while the organising secretary for London and the Home Counties was Samuel Robert Noble (1861-1921) who has been General Secretary of the National Cyclists Union since 1896. A section on drill was written by retired Brigadier-General Noel Lake (1852-1932) of the Royal Engineers. Members of the AVF could wear its distinctive enamel badge which is now an affordable collectible, and can be picked up for around £15 on ebay. The one illustrated here, still with its original box, was made by WJ Carroll of Fenchurch Street, London, and there are other versions by makers such as Fattorini.

The illustrated poem by Leo Munro, a sports journalist and artist, sums up the mood:Manhood of Britain, our country is callingPut by your toys, for no longer ‘tis playOurs will be no shirking while comrades are fallingRally we now, and let ours be “the day”.

Prove we the lessons our clean sports have taught us,The pluck that endures and the scorning to yield,No matter the strength of the foemen who fought us –That was the spirit that won us the field.

That was the object of sport as a training,Each for his side, none for personal fame.Prove now its value, give all uncomplaining,Give for your country, though sterner the game.